


Sanctuary

by borrowedlight



Category: Code Black (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-24 04:19:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10733988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/borrowedlight/pseuds/borrowedlight
Summary: Set after 2x16 - It begins before Leanne is discharged from the hospital and before she brings Ariel home.The virus that ravaged Leanne's body has made recovery a slow process but has not affected her inner strength to follow her heart, especially when it comes to her new love, new family, new life and unforeseen circumstances.





	1. Chapter 1

Leanne could hardly lift her head but no weakness could stop the smile that appeared on her face when Jesse told her everyone was okay. Her body was still very weak from the outbreak. Jesse had noticed Leanne’s lack of strength, especially when she tried to push herself out of the hospital bed. 

“Don’t you dare start with me Jesse Luis Sallander, I want to see Ariel.” She held her finger out to him and raised a brow.

Jesse held up his hands, “Take it easy. You’re not invincible, your body has been through hell in the past 48 hours. It needs time to recover.” He raised a brow right back at her.

Leanne rolled her eyes and leaned back into the bed. “Jesse, I know that. I’m a doctor, remember?” Her index finger made contact with his chest before falling back down in her lap. She knew there was no winning this argument. “Can you at least tell me how she’s doing?” 

“Relax, Daddy. I checked on her ten minutes ago, she was still sleeping and her fluids were good.”

Leanne relaxed into her bed a bit more after hearing that Ariel was okay. Pulling the blanket back over her stomach she settled her gaze upon Jesse who had finally pulled up a chair to sit beside her. He felt staying was the least he could do for his girl. 

“So, are you excited to fly out and see your Abuela tomorrow?” A small smile appeared on her face.

“About that.” Jesse rubbed his hands together, noting the way she tilted her head. “I don’t think I’m going. I’ve decided to stay behind with you. I don’t feel right about leaving, not right now.”

“Jesse, the woman is sick --”

“Yeah, and so are you!”

“Well, she’s family --”

Jesse leaned in a little, “And so are you.” 

She furrowed her brow a little before rolling her eyes and looking up at the speckled ceiling tile. “Well, I can take care of myself.” 

“Cut the ‘I don’t need anyone’ crap, okay? You’re not fooling me. You just about fell flat on your face when you tried to get out of bed three minutes ago.” She was silent but Jesse could see her impatience growing. He shook his head before getting up and returning his chair to the corner of the room. Stopping in the doorway, his eyes settled on her death glare. “You can roll your eyes at me all you want Leanne, but you’re my girl and I’m not leaving you when you need me most.” She clenched her jaw and looked away. She hated that he was making such a big deal over her. It didn’t feel right to her that he was going to stay behind with her when a real family member was sick and needed him more.

Leanne bit at her bottom lip. She looked over when she heard the door to her room close. If she was stronger and had the energy she would’ve went after him and tried to convince him to go, but that wasn’t possible at the moment. Leanne huffed, silently agreeing that he was, in a sense, right - she did need him. She needed someone.

Ethan had come by the hospital room in time to hear the last little bit of their conversation. He approached Jesse at the nurse’s station as casually as possible. “So I saw you have tomorrow off, for vacation? That’ll be nice.” He attempted to bring up their discussion timidly, without looking up from his chart.

“Some vacation. My Abuela is sick and so I was going to make the trip to see her.” He rubbed at his facial hair after looking up from Leanne’s chart.

“What do you mean? Not going anymore?” Ethan looked up from his writing.

Shifting in his feet, Jesse looked over to Leanne’s room. “Yeah, Leanne needs me more. The woman can barely hold her head up.” Ethan’s electric blue eyes moved from the short Puerto Rican man to the frail woman lying in the hospital bed across the hall. 

Jesse shook his head, “but she’s so damn stubborn.”

Ethan cleared his throat, “I mean, it does make sense after almost dying from a deadly virus.” Jesse shrugged his shoulders and nodded in agreement. There was a brief silence before Ethan piped up again, “Well I can keep an eye on her, if you want.”

Jesse looked back at Ethan with a raised brow. “Aye G.I. Joe, you sure jumped at that opportunity.”

“What do you mean?” A small grin perked the corner of Ethan’s mouth as he put his pen back in his chest pocket. “I just want you to go see your sick Abuela.” His grin grew, and a small snicker escaped his mouth as he began walking away. “Page me when you decide!” He shouted from down the hall.

Jesse laughed and shook his head. He wasn’t blind. He knew that Ethan and Leanne had a thing going on - he noticed mostly when he watched Ethan take care of her during the outbreak. Jesse was grateful that he could be there for Leanne during the times that he couldn’t. Jesse wasn’t completely opposed to the idea of the two of them spending more time together. 

 

\--

 

Leanne shifted in her bed, the soreness in her muscles still apparent. Doctor Bence had come in to check her levels and her fluids, each day showing minor improvement.

“So, Leanne, I think I’m going to send you home later today.”

Leanne’s ears perked and a slight smile began to grow on her face. “Home, that sounds so nice.” 

“I’m sure! I mean I want to keep an eye on your progress throughout the day before I know for sure but I don’t see you staying here another night.” She smiled up at Leanne, scribbling down the latest update on her chart. “However you do know that you will need someone to drive you home and keep an eye on you.” 

“Yeah, Jesse’s giving me no choice in the matter. He said he’s taking me home - but what I’m most scared of is his cook--”

“Actually, I’m standing in for Jesse.” Ethan slipped in through Leanne’s open hospital room door. 

Leanne turned her head towards his voice. She adjusted her hospital gown a little before clearing her throat, “What?” Her brow slightly furrowing.

“Jesse is currently boarding a flight to Puerto Rico as we speak, which means I’m going to be helping you out instead.”

“Well in that case, I’ll tell you what I told Jesse - I can take care of myself. I don’t need a babysitter.”

“He told me you’d say that - he also told me not to listen.”

Leanne shook her head in utter disbelief, clenching her jaw as she looked up at the ceiling. “Unbelieveable.”

Noting the tension, Dr. Bence laughed nervously. “Leanne, I’ll be back to check on you later before you’re discharged. Dr. Willis, can I speak to you outside?” Dr. Bence nodded towards the door and politely excused herself from the room. Ethan met Leanne’s glare before leaving the room. Closing the door behind him, Ethan folded his arms and waited for what Dr. Bence had to say.

“So there are some thing you should know about taking care of Leanne.”

“Georgia, I’m a doctor.”

She laughed and looked down, “I know, but you know the drill.” She brought Leanne’s clipboard to her chest before taking another breath. “Leanne is still very weak, which means she’s going to need some assistance with even the simplest of tasks. It’s going to be this way for at least a week or two. She needs plenty of fluids and needs to begin to eat more. Leanne’s lack of appetite is making it hard for her body to gain the energy it needs to heal. Also, slowly returning to her usual daily activities will work to avoid prolonging the weakness and fatigue and --”

“And if new symptoms develop along with the weakness and fatigue, give you a call. Yeah, you’re right, I know the drill.” Ethan interrupted.

A corner of Dr. Benson’s mouth curled. “Okay, well one more thing--”

“If symptoms become more severe or more frequent, come in right away.” Ethan rubbed the back of his neck and snickerd.

“What I was going to say was Leanne is extremely stubborn, so I wish you luck.” 

A small smile spread on Ethan’s face before the doctor patted him on the arm and walked down the hall to see another patient. Ethan turned around and peeked at Leanne through the window blinds. She was standing and beginning to gather her things. This was a disaster waiting to happen - he could see her legs quivering. Ethan grabbed at the door handle and strutted his way in, “Well someone’s extremely eager to come home with me.”

Leanne frowned, using the bed as a crutch she pivoted on the balls of her feet, “Excuse me?”

“Leanne, relax. It was a joke.” He stood there as she glared at him, her eyes narrowing with every second that passed. “I only left the room for a minute and when I came back you were already out of bed and packing. It was just a joke.”

Leanne pointed at the hospital bed, “the only reason I’m coming home with you, Ethan Willis, is because I want out of this damn hospital bed.” Dropping her hand, she returned to her task, placing a neatly folded shirt into her duffel bag. 

“Why are you being so hostile towards me?”

Leanne sighed loudly and angrily before spinning herself around with more force than anticipated. “I’m mad at Jes--” Leanne stopped short when her knees gave out. Ethan lurched forward and caught her before her fragile body hit the cold hospital tile. Ethan gently picked her small body up and placed her back in bed. She avoided eye contact for a moment before her hazel eyes returned to his blue ones. “I’m sorry, I’m just--”

“No need to explain, but let me do this for you.” He grabbed her folded-up scrubs and placed them among her things. 

She gave him a small apologetic smile, placing a chilled shaky hand on his forearm. “Thank you.”


	2. Chapter 2

Before leaving the hospital Ethan and Leanne stopped by Ariel’s room. The doctor’s weren’t ready to discharge her, so she would remain at the hospital until she was able to go home; wherever that was. Leanne had maneuvered her wheelchair in a way so that she could be close to Ariel, who at the time, was sleeping. She pulled a strand of the blonde’s hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. 

“She’s been through so much, Ethan.” Leanne whispered without looking back at him.

Ethan watched as Leanne lovingly looked at Ariel, as if she was her own daughter. Her hand ran down the side of Ariel’s head in a slow, smooth motion. He turned when he felt a pat on his back. It was Angus and he was with the Child and Family Services worker. Leanne turned too when she heard a familiar voice introduce herself to Ethan.

“Hi, I’m Carla from Child and Family Services. I don’t think we’ve met.” The woman whispered as she reached out her hand to shake his. This was the woman that she had talked to about Ariel before all the chaos of the outbreak.

Ethan cleared his throat and took her hand in his, “Ethan Willis, Dr. Ethan Willis. Nice to meet you.” He nodded slightly in doing so. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s going to happen with Ariel when she’s discharged?”

“Well, we thought she was going back into the system but--” 

“That’s not going to happen, Carla. You and I, we’ve already discussed this a couple of days ago. She’s not going into another group home.” Leanne stood from her wheelchair, a stern look on her face.

“Dr. Rorish,” the social worker paused, looking at Ethan for a brief moment, “I’m glad to see you’re doing better.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Well since we last talked, we’ve found her aunt. Ariel will be going back into her care as soon as she’s discharged.” Leanne began shaking her head before Carla had even finished talking, her fists clenching tighter with every second that passed. Ethan went to her side, and placed a hand on her arm, silently telling her to relax and sit back in her wheelchair. 

“Don’t touch me. I’m fine standing.” She glared up at Ethan, her bottom lip tight. A warning.

He knew she was worried about Ariel and that this was important to her, so he hesitantly left her be but kept close by.

Leanne turned back to Carla. “No, that can’t happen. The whole reason why Ariel ran away was because of her aunt. She didn’t take care of her, didn’t want her.” She began to feel dizzy so she paused. “No child, of which she still very much is, deserves to be in that kind of care.” Her voice became a little louder this time and her body swayed. Ethan watched closely as her knees began to quiver again, just as they had the day before when she fell. Ariel began to wake but Leanne hadn’t noticed.

“Leanne, please,” Ethan placed his hands softly on her upper arms.

Her hazel eyes met his, “No, someone needs to fight for this girl.”

“Sit down.” He raised a brow.

She looked him straight in the eye, debating whether or not she wanted to listen to him. She pursed her lips and rested her body back into the stiff chair. She took a deep breath before calmly looking back up at Carla, “what can I do?” She folded her arms and licked her lips.

A small voice broke the room’s awkward silence, “Leanne?”

Leanne spun her head to find Ariel awake and looking at her. Pulling herself closer she smiled, “Ariel, I didn’t realize you were awake.”

Carla cleared her throat, “Unfortunately, I don’t have a whole lot to tell you regarding that right now. For the moment, the plan is that she will return to her aunt’s care.”

“No!” Ariel jumped almost immediately into a sitting position. “I want to go with Leanne.” The blonde glanced at Leanne, “please can I stay with you?” Ariel’s heart monitor began beeping at an alarming pace, warning that her heart rate had jumped too suddenly.

Leanne placed a hand on Ariel’s in reassurance, “Ariel, you need to relax. We’ll figure this out.” 

“No, I can’t go back to Minnesota. I’ll run away again if you send me back there!” She looked directly at Carla as she spoke.

Suddenly Ariel’s nurses rushed into the room. “Everyone out, please. Now.”

Carla left the room immediately and Ethan went to grab Leanne’s wheelchair. Leanne fought him and dug her heels into the floor as Ariel’s hand began slipping out of her grasp. “We’ll figure this out, Ariel. I’ll call you. Don’t worry!” 

One of the nurses placed a mask on Ariel’s face, making it hard to understand what she was saying. Leanne could hear her calling out her name and it made her heart sink as she didn’t have the strength to stop the wheelchair and turn around. “Don’t worry!” she said again, her voice cracking a little as she was wheeled out of the room. 

The car ride back to Ethan’s apartment was silent. All that could be heard was the faint scratching of Leanne’s fingernails on the car door. She was fidgeting, something she did when there was something on her mind. She bit at her bottom lip desperately trying to figure out how to keep Ariel from her Aunt’s care. 

“It’s gonna be fine. We’ll figure things out.” Ethan smiled over at her. She looked over at him and smiled lightly, her hazels catching reflections of passing cars in the evening sun.

Before long, the two arrived at Ethan’s apartment. Ethan pushed his jeep into park and the two sat there for a moment before moving. 

“I wasn’t aware you lived in an apartment.” She said softly, gently craning her neck to see the top of the apartment building. She squinted her eyes a bit as the sunset reflecting off the windows shon into her eyes.

“Yeah. When I first got a job at Angel’s, I wasn’t sure if it was a permanent thing or not - so I thought that for now this would be a okay for me.” 

Leanne nodded before Ethan got out and grabbed her things -- Jesse had gone to her house and packed a few things he knew she would need. She opened the door and he ran around the vehicle to help her out. She placed one hand on the door and grabbed his arm with her other hand before pulling herself out of the jeep. She had refused to bring the wheelchair, despite her body’s lack of energy. The two approached the entrance to which Ethan began walking towards the elevator. 

“No elevator.”

“Leanne, you just got out of the hospital.”

“No elevator.”

“I live on the 4th floor.”

She paused, debating with herself before looking up at him. “Well we better get going then.” 

Ethan shook his head with a smile. Stubborn is right, he thought to himself after remembering what Doctor Bence had said. They soon began their trek up to Ethan’s apartment, Leanne taking it easy -- step by step. She noticed Ethan’s gentle patience with her. She knew she wasn’t easy to deal with but he was there right by her side every step of the way. Leanne held onto the stair railing with one hand while the other was folded in between his body and arm. Ethan had tossed her bag over his shoulder and had a hand placed on her lower back for support. He would stop at the top of each flight to let her catch her breath before beginning again. 

When the two reached the top of the stairs Ethan waited for Leanne to grab onto the wall before fumbling for his keys to the apartment. After fidgeting with the lock, he opened the door and stepped to Leanne’s side again before guiding her into his home. Her hazel eyes scanned the room, it wasn’t what she had imagined it to be. There was a brick wall where the windows sat, with wooden beams running the white ceiling, and rich wood furnishings accenting the room. It was all very rustic looking -- or as rustic as a LA apartment could be. He had a tall bookshelf beside one of the windows in his living room. Her eyes scanned the spines of each book, her heart beating a little faster when they met ones she recognized.

“I’m just going to go put your things in my bedroom, I’ll be right back.” He readjusted the duffle that was hanging over his shoulder. He was just about to head down the hall when Leanne tore her gaze from the bookshelf. “Wait, what do you mean to your bedroom?” She shifted her weight, resting her hip on the back of his couch.

“Well that’s the thing. As much as I love this apartment, it’s only a single room.”

“So, if I’m staying in your room, where are you going to sleep?”

“Relax, Leanne. I’m going to sleep on the couch. Not to worry.”

“Well of course, but this is your apartment -- you should be the one sleeping in the bed.”

“Leanne, I’ve slept in the dirt. I’ll be fine.” He raised a brow and a crooked little smile appeared on his face. “Besides, I’m not the one who had Hemorrhagic Fever… I’ll be back.” He turned and took her things down the hall.

Her eyes scanned the ceiling beams, “My God, my life is like a soap opera.”

“What was that?” Ethan returned.

“Oh nothing, I see you own a lot of books.” She pointed towards the wooden bookcase.

“Yeah, have you ever read any of them?”

“Actually yes, I own quite a few of them by the looks of it.” She slowly made her way towards the shelf. Her fingers lightly running the spines, pausing on the ones she knew. 

“I’m a little surprised. I didn’t peg you for a historical/military buff.”

“My dad was a military doctor. He was kind of the reason I became an emergency doctor myself.” She smiled a little as she continued to run her fingers over the books. “They were given to me when he died.” 

“I’m sorry.” He looked her in the eye with such sincerity.

A small smile rose and fell from her face, “He was a great man.”

“Have you heard of this one?” Ethan went to reach for one of the books before Leanne’s hand collided with his. Smiling, her face flushed, she smiled a little before looking down. “I’m sorry, I was just about to reach for the same one. It was one of Dad’s favourites.”

Ethan smiled, looking down at her quickly retreating hands. “For Whom the Bells Tolls -- Ernest Hemingway.” Pausing, he grabbed her chilled hands and placed the book within her grasp -- his hands lingering on hers for a little longer than she assumed they would. Her eyes moved from their hands to his oceanic blues. They sat there for a moment before Leanne broke their trance and looked at the book in her hands.

“I’m -- uh, I’m feeling a little tired. I think I’ll go to bed.” She began to move towards the hallway, stopping short. Without turning around she hummed a little, “Ethan?”

“Yeah?”

She held out the book, “thanks for this.”

“Of course.” He watched her move down the hallway searching for his bedroom. Her hand tracing the wall for support. He rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head a little. He was falling for her faster than he had with anyone before.

“Hey, holler if you need anything, okay?” He shouted out to her.


	3. Chapter 3

Leanne woke as the morning sun shone through Ethan’s blinds and onto her face. She had momentarily forgotten where she was -- her surroundings unfamiliar. Her sleep ridden eyes settled on a digital alarm clock beside the bed- 6:34 am. Remembering that she was at Ethan’s, she pushed her aching body from the bed and shrugged on a baggy sweater. She ran a had through her dishevelled hair and wiped her face with a warm cloth before tiptoeing down the hallway. Looking around, she entered the open space where the kitchen and living room were connected, after scanning the room her eyes settled on a sleeping Ethan. The golden sun creating a striped pattern on his face as it passed through the blinds on the living room window. He had an open book resting face down on the coffee table beside him. Leanne walked over to him and smiled lightly, picking up the book she folded over a corner of the page and closed it setting it carefully on the table. Ethan’s eyes fluttered every once in awhile as if he were dreaming. His chest rose and fell in sync with the small wisps of air that escaped his lips. Leanne didn’t have the heart to wake him, she turned and headed to the kitchen and began searching for the coffee maker. Suddenly she felt a wave of heat rise within her body, causing her to stumble backwards against the kitchen’s island. Leanne grabbed for the edge of the counter as the room around her began to move. The dizziness was always the worst in the morning, closing her eyes she hummed as she leaned her head forward, willing the feeling to go away. She brought a hand to the side of her face and gently massaged her temple. The lightheadedness subsided and turned into a light haze. Shaking her head she let go of the kitchen island and stepped forward to the opening of the kitchen. Her hand ran against the wall as she attempted to regain her balance, as she left the kitchen she ran into bumped the kitchen chair. The noise had caused Ethan to jolt upright from the couch, he watched her stumble from the kitchen to the hallway. He stood quickly when he saw her pause in the entrance of the hallway.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked walking towards her.

She grabbed his forearm for balance and Ethan placed a hand on the small of her back to keep her from falling. She gently squeezed her eyes shut, “Yeah, I’m fine. I was just --” she shook her head a little once again, “I was just going for a shower.” She opened her hazel hues and looked up at him, squinting a little as she tried to refocus her vision. The walls appeared to dance around her. Once she had realized she was holding onto him, she grew wide-eyed and let go immediately beginning to make her way down the hall once again.

“Whoa. Where are you going? You’re not going anywhere. Not like this. Come sit down.” He gently pulled her back by her elbow.

She ripped her arm away, “Ethan, I said I was fine. Let me shower.” She ran a hand along the hallway wall for a sense of security as she made her way to the bathroom.

“You’re gonna have to trust me at some point!” He shouted after her.

Leanne rolled her eyes at his comment, she didn’t like to be fussed over. She had survived this long without anyone else’s help, what made them think she needed them now? She closed the bathroom door behind her and paused there for a moment, taking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly. Nodding her head and mumbling to herself she proceeded to move towards the shower. Bending forward she pulled back the curtain and perched herself on the side of the tub, running her hand in and out of the running water. The nauseating dizziness that was there just moments ago, was slowing down with every moment that passed. Standing up again, Leanne raised her arms over her head and pulled off her sweater. As she went to raise her arms again to pull off the shirt underneath, but it had caused her to lose her balance and take a few steps backwards. She let out a hot frustrated huff and tried again this time with success. Letting her baggy pajama pants fall from her hips, she placed both hands on the edge of the bathroom sink. Leanne stood there bare, looking at herself in the wide glossy mirror. She had alarmingly dark bags under her eyes and her skin was pale and pasty. Shaking her head a little, she looked herself up and down before stepping into the shower. Leanne stood there for a minute as the hot water and steam encapsulated her body. She grabbed Ethan’s shampoo, squirting a nickel-sized amount into her hand after realizing she had forgotten her own. She lathered the creamy liquid into her scalp and rinsed most of it out before another nauseating whirling sensation claimed her body. 

“Fuck,” she whispered to herself. Her body was already struggling to regain the control of balance. This was the worst spell of the morning, in fact, it felt like one of the strongest she’d experienced since her time in the hospital. Her legs grew shaky, a tell-tale sign that things were escalating quickly. She attempted to get out of the shower before it got worse but an even stronger wave of lightheadedness caused her knees to buckle. Leanne squeezed her eyes shut and threw a on hand on the shower wall, clenching onto the curtain with her other hand. The force of her struggle to stay upright brought the shower curtain down causing her to fall to the bottom of the tub. 

Ethan heard loud set of bangs and thuds as both Leanne and the shower curtain went down. He stood up immediately, the book he was reading dropping to the floor. “Leanne?” Ethan raced to the bathroom door. “Leanne?! Are you okay?” 

There was no answer.

“Leanne?! Answer me!” He shouted into the door, pounding his fist into the aged wood with every concerned word. After silence once again rang through his ears, he forcefully shook the locked door knob. Ethan stood there for a moment desperately trying to figure out a way in, but kicked in the door before giving it a second thought. The door flew inward and onto the floor with a loud smash. 

Ethan stopped short to find Leanne sitting upward in the fetal position, the shower curtain was draped over the left side of her body. Leanne had her eyes closed and her arms curled around her legs where her chin was resting on her knees. The shower was still running causing a slight pink stream of diluted blood to run down the side of her face and body. Her small frame was still covered in shampoo and her sopping hair collected in thick strands that stuck to her shoulders and upper back. Ethan’s eyes ran the bare side of her body, scars from the accident decorating her ribcage and lower back. 

He lurched forward to shut off the shower and bent down to her level. She turned her head to him, her head remaining on her knees. Opening her eyes she looked into his oceanic blues humming a little before speaking quietly, “I’m fine.”

“Leanne you’re bleeding.”

“I hit my head.” 

Ethan brought a hand to the side of her face, he ran his thumb softly over the cut on her eyebrow. She winced a little before leaning more into his hand and closing her eyes. He leaned back to grab a tissue and lightly dabbed at the leaking cut. 

“I’ll be right back.” 

Ethan left the room but came back not even a minute later with his white cotton robe. 

“Do you mind?”

She picked up her head, shaking it a little before making sure every bit of her that needed to be hidden was hiding. He peeled back the shower curtain, tossing it aside before he cloaked the heavy cotton material over her shaking frame. Holding out his hands, Ethan waited patiently until Leanne maneuvered herself in a way that he could help her get out of the shower. With Ethan’s help, she left the shower, where the tinted red water that had collected in the bottom of the tub gently flowed through the drain. She shook, this whole ordeal had taken her by surprise and her body still hadn't completely recovered. Ethan shut the toilet lid where he sat Leanne down and wrapped her dripping hair in a towel. He ran to his bedroom and fetched some of his medical supplies; a small first aide-like box that he kept at home for minor emergencies such as these. He cleaned out the soap that had saturated the cut in her brow before disinfecting it and taping a small wad of gauze over top. When he had finished up, he gently pulled Leanne to her feet and brought her over to his bed. Letting her crawl in, he sat beside her for a while making sure she was okay. They sat there in utter silence for about ten minutes before Leanne cleared her throat and spoke softly.

“I do trust you, you know.”

He raised his brow in confusion. 

She brought her eyes to his face, “You know...before. Before I went in the shower you said that I needed to trust you at some point. Well, I do.”

He smiled a little looking down. “And it only took a tumble in the shower and a bump on the head to make you see that?”

“Ethan, I’m not kidding around here.” She said seriously.

He placed a hand on hers. “I know, and I’m glad.” She nodded before she sank more into the pillows. 

He got up from the bed and closed the blinds. “Have a good rest, Leanne. Please don’t hesitate to call me if you need me.” The dim daylight from the hallway lit him from the behind.

“Thank you.” she said both hoarsely and quietly.

“And it’s okay to need someone.” He smiled a little before closing the door behind him.

She looked up to the still ceiling fan and pursed her lips. “It’s okay to need someone…” She repeated before closing her eyes and dozing off.

\--

Leanne had slept for three hours after the whole shower incident. When she woke, Ethan had helped her to the couch in the living room and covered her in a soft blanket that was given to him by his sister before he deployed. He placed a cool glass of water on the coffee table in front of her as she looked out towards the LA skyline. The daylight reflected softly onto as she pulled a thick strand of hair from her face. She had the book that Ethan had given her to read sitting neatly under her folded hands.

“It’s a gorgeous day outside today. We could pull a chair out there if you’d like to get some fresh air.” He nodded towards the balcony. 

“I’m not sure heights are a good thing for me right now.” She ran two of her fingers across the gauze on her eyebrow with a small light grin.

Ethan purses his lips together and smiled, “good point.” 

The smile slowly faded from her face as she looked down at her hands. 

“It’ll get better, Leanne.” 

She looked up at him in silence, running her index finger along the corner of the book’s spine.

“I promise.” 

Her head turned quickly at the sound of her cell phone going off in Ethan’s bedroom.

“Is that yours or mine?” Ethan asked getting up from the chair across from her. 

“That’s mine, do you mind?” She smiled scrunching her nose up a bit. 

“Not at all!” Ethan walked down the hallway half smiling to himself. This was the first time since she had been in his home that she had asked for help with something. He brought back the phone, and placed it in her outheld hand. Before answering, Leanne looked at the screen to see who it was calling and raised her brow -- a little surprised by who’s name was on her screen. Ethan tilted his head a little, noting the change in her facial expression.

“Who is it?” 

Looking up at him, she furrowed her brow slightly. “Why would Angus be calling me?” 

“Maybe he has a question? An emergency question?” Ethan piped up, shrugging his shoulders a little as he took a sip of his piping hot coffee. Looking down, Leanne brought her index finger gently to the green button on her screen and accepted the call.

“Rorish, here.”

“I thought you said we were going to figure this out?” The voice spoke into her ear.

Leanne pursed her lips and brought her other hand to the bandage on her brow. “What? Who is this?” 

“Oh right, it’s Ariel. Sorry.”

Leanne looked to Ethan slightly wide-eyed, “Ariel?” She tilted her head back down to her lap, pinching the blanket in between her fingers. “Why do you have Dr. Leighton's phone?” 

“I had to sell my phone to get the bus ticket here, remember? I grabbed it from his pocket when he was changing my IV.”

“Ariel, you have to give him back his phone.” Leanne heard Ariel sigh after she spoke. “ I shouldn’t have to tell you not to steal.” She could almost feel Ariel’s rolling her eyes. “Do you understand?”

“Yeah, yeah…” Ariel hummed.

“No, I mean it.”

“I will, okay? God.”

Leanne shook her head.

“So when are you bringing me home?”

Leanne looked up from her lap right into Ethan’s eyes, speechless. He looked at her curiously and a small whispery ‘what?’ came from his mouth. 

“Leanne, I can’t go back to my aunt’s!”

Leanne stuttered, “Whe--when are they discharging you?” 

“The end of the week! What are we going to do? I’m not going back to my Aunt Roberta’s. I’m not. I won’t. She doesn’t give a shit about me. There is no way in hell I am going back ther--”

“Ariel, calm down,” Leanne interrupted. “We’ll figure this out. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Lean--”

Leanne heard the panic in Ariel’s trembling voice. A sound she knew all too well - someone who was trying to remain strong but was slowly falling apart. “Ariel, listen to me. I will not let you go back to your Aunt’s, okay? I promise.” Leanne swallowed a heavy lump in her throat. Silence rang on the other end of the phone - the odd sniffle here and there. “Now go give Angus’ phone back, I’ll call you tomorrow.” Leanne brought the phone from her ear and pressed the red end button on the screen. She fidgeted with the phone in her hands while her mind went a mile a minute trying to figure out what to do.

Ethan could see her freaking out a little. “Leanne?”

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, her chin quivering a little. “I think,” She swallowed another quickly developing lump in her throat. “I think I need to adopt Ariel.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sooooo sorry for the update delay - the muse was not cooperating and then I was on vacation... *continues listing excuses, yadda yadda* but the point is I've updated and I hope you all enjoy. Let me know what you think in the comments. :)

Ethan got up and walked over to Leanne, perching himself beside her. “I hope you don’t mind me asking but, are you sure? I mean, are you sure you’re ready?”

“Honestly? I don’t really know if I’m ready to adopt her but something needs to be done. This little girl needs help, she’s alone. Ariel doesn’t belong to anyone. Her and I? We seem to have that in common.” Leanne swallowed and then paused for a moment, taking a minute to think about things briefly. “I’m alive for a reason, Ethan.” she said looking him in the eye again. “The accident didn’t kill me, the Hemorrhagic Fever didn’t kill me. It’s gotta mean something. There is still work to be done, people to save.

“People like yourself maybe?” Ethan shrugged with a raised brow.

“What because of my family? My grief? Grief doesn’t end, Ethan. You and I both know that. And who better to go through it with than someone who’s experienced the same thing?”

Ethan looked down and nodded to himself a little, rubbing the side of his jaw. He knew that by the sounds of it, she had already made up her mind. Heaven knew that when Leanne set her mind to something, she was going to do it -- whether people approved or not. Despite being a little concerned about her handling things, given the loss of her family and all, Ethan couldn’t help but think that this could help her. For all he knew, mothering Ariel could be exactly what she needed in her life. “You’re right. Just know that I am willing to help if you need me.”

“You’re sweet, thank you.” She patted the top of his hand and pulled the blanket off her lap, setting the book and her phone on the coffee table in front of her. Leanne stood up but perhaps a little too quickly, she swayed with a brief episode of dizziness before Ethan noticed her eyes flutter. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy there, Slick. Where are you going?” Leanne had subconsciously grabbed onto his arm for balance bringing her other hand up to her face. He pulled her back down onto the couch. She held the bridge of her nose in between her thumb and pointer finger, squeezing her eyes shut, hoping that the dizziness would disperse. 

“I was, uh…” she trailed off for a moment, fighting the dizziness. “I was going to pack.” she said frowning a little.

“Pack? Pack for what?”

Leanne opened her eyes one by one. She worked hard to focus her vision on the coffee table in front of her, squinting before looking up at Ethan’s confused expression. 

“Ethan, I can’t get anywhere with Ariel’s situation if I’m living here. They won’t let me take her if I’m incapable of living at my own house.”

“I don’t mean to sound rude, or anything, but you just got over Hemorrhagic Fever. Maybe you should tone it down a notch and actually take some time to rest. Besides, given what happened earlier I’m not all that comfortable letting you be completely by yourself.”

Leanne shook her head a little. “But Ethan--” She furrowed her brows a little as she adjusted to the dizziness subsiding, “I don’t have the time to rest. Ariel needs me -- if I don’t do this now, Ariel will be back in her Aunt’s care and she won’t have a chance. I don’t know how else to explain the way that I feel about this.” 

He stared into her muddy hazel pools.

“She needs me.” she tilted her head a little.

He looked down at her hand that still remained on his arm. He knew that Leanne and Ariel had a connection, and that Leanne would do anything to help this girl.

He hummed a little before looking into her eyes again, “Okay, here’s the deal:” He licked his lips, “I’m going to get you home -- get you comfortable,” he nodded and glanced to the side, “and once we get you settled in, we’ll call CFS and get this whole Ariel process sorted out.”

Leanne smiled softly, the thought of being home so comforting. “But what about you?”

“Oh don’t worry, I’m coming with you.” 

Leanne’s smile faded. Although he hadn’t been a terrible roommate over the past few days, the thought of him living in her house made her feel slightly uneasy. It would be an adjustment enough to have Ariel living in the house with her never mind Ethan. He saw her facial expression change but it wasn’t long until her head sunk into a slight nod. She knew it was what needed to happen. She couldn’t imagine not having Ethan around during the whole shower ordeal. 

“Fine.”

Ethan raised his brow, slightly shocked and Leanne had noticed.

“What?” She glanced up at him.

“Oh nothing, I just wasn’t expecting you to agree so quickly.” He ran a hand across his whiskery chin, letting a small cheeky smile cross his cheeks.

“I don’t think I really have much of a choice.” She smiled subtly at him, her eyes glittering a little as they moved to his eyes. “Do I?”

“Nope, you’re right. You don’t.”

 

\--

 

Leanne hummed in content as she slowly walked the rooms of her own house. Slipping off her shoes, she marveled at the feeling of the cool hardwood beneath her feet. She folded her arms and looked up at the stippled ceiling, biting her bottom lip slightly.

It had been ages since she had been home. First she was at the hospital and then at Ethan’s. The two of them had decided together that it was smart to stay at Ethan’s just a couple days more after Leanne experienced another severe episode. She had fallen once again as a sudden and abrupt dizzy spell claimed her body. It had grown so bad so quickly that even Ethan contemplated taking Leanne back to the hospital. Leanne reminded him shortly after, as she lay in his bed with a wet cloth on her forehead, that this was expected and Dr. Bence had warned her about this. It was one of the side effects that she would have to tolerate for the first little while of her recovery. Ethan grabbed her shaky hand and squeezed in reassurance before walking away to get her a glass of water. Leanne wasn’t one to get touchy-feely, but things were different with Ethan. Maybe it was the way he took care of her -- knowing that doing things on her own was important to her. Ethan had noticed certain changes in Leanne too. The way she would let him handle her, though he was extremely careful not to push it. He was getting somewhere with her. A form of trust maybe. He was finally beginning to break down the walls that Leanne had built so highly to protect herself.

Leanne stopped humming when she hesitantly approached the staircase. Looking down at her feet, she then shifted her gaze up to the top of the stairs. She sighed before placing a hand gently on the staircase’s railing. Pausing for a moment, she contemplated - remembering the way her knees would knock together when she over-exerted herself. She hated the sensation of her body’s weakness taking over, making her hesitant to do certain things. Unfortunately even things as simple as climbing the stairs. Leanne stepped up onto the first step, praying that the paralyzing cloud of nauseating dizziness would wait until she was, at the very least, standing at the top of the stairs. It wasn’t before she took the second step that she heard Ethan dump their bags at the front door behind her and within seconds met her at the stairs. He didn’t grab her or anything aggressive, he simply placed his hand softly on the small of her back offering her a sense of security. Ethan observed how much weight she had lost as his hand lightly rested on her lower back. She hadn’t been eating much despite his numerous reminders. The two of them slowly made their way up the stairs, careful not to over exert Leanne’s wobbly body. It was when they reached the top stair, without any issues, that Leanne turned to Ethan with a slight smile. The feeling of pride pushing up at the corners of her mouth.

“See?” Ethan smiled back, “I knew things were starting to get better.”

Leanne smiled a little wider, this time letting the whites of her teeth show. She hummed a little before looking back down at the floor in front of her, “let me give you a tour.”

Nodding, Ethan smiled. Ever so subtly, he dropped his hand from the small of her back to the palm of her hand. He didn’t grab it but let it hang there loosely, allowing it to brush against hers as they walked. Leanne had noticed this, his not so subtle way of trying to be close with her. She stopped walking immediately, her feet halting in that very spot before she flashed her hazel eyes towards Ethan. “Wh-what are you doing?” She questioned, her lips parting.

The smile on Ethan’s face quickly fell, “oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you--”

Leanne continued to look him in the eyes, her stare unfaltering. She slowly yet hesitantly led her hand into his. Her hand light, soft, and a little cold.

“--uncomfortable.” his voice almost at a whisper, a small smile pushing at his cheeks once again. His thumb lightly ran the surface of her hand as she leaned more into him. Leanne turned her body to face him, reaching for his other hand - not taking her gaze from his eyes. She shook her head and smiled a little when she realized what she had just done. Her focus from his face dropped to the floor. She couldn’t believe what was happening. Just a few days ago, she felt uncomfortable at the thought of him living in her house and now it was as if something had changed. This wasn’t like her, to get attached so quickly to someone -- but something was different with Ethan. The trust that she had thought about just days before. Was that it? Leanne shook her head again with a small airy giggle.

“I’m sorry--” she dropped her hands from his, “I don’t know what I’m doing.” She covered her face in her hands, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

“Hey,” he grabbed her hands from her face, and pushed up her chin so that he could see her gaze once again. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” 

Leanne shifted her weight, switching her focus from one of his oceanic blues to the other. Ethan noted the slight concern in her face before he slowly closed the space in between them. She looked up at him rather timidly before she leaned her lips lightly into his, her eyes remaining open with uncertainty. The act felt welcoming but once again Leanne snapped back to her reality and lightly retreated.

“I--uh.” she ran her tongue over her bottom lip, “I’ve just been meaning to tell you how grateful I’ve been for all your help.”

“Well, damn. I should help you more often then because that was kind of nice.”

Leanned laughed, dropping her head, “No, I mean it.” She mumbled, “I know I’m not the easiest to deal with at times, especially in times like these.”

Ethan tilted her head upward once again, “I wouldn’t be here right now if I had a problem with that.” He pulled her close and without any resistance on her part, he kissed her once more.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! I lost my inspo for a while but I think it's making a comeback. Let me know what you think in the comments. :)

“Mrs Rori--”

“Please, it’s Doctor.” she corrected the judge.

With an upturned brow the elderly man hesitated, “Doctor Rorish, I’ll tell you again, the adoption application you submitted is pending approval - no decisions have been made and there is a process to this. By now you should know that Ariel’s Aunt Roberta has also submitted an application which is why things are taking so long. I am extending the temporary custody of Ariel I granted you three and a half month ago because I feel that she is making some good progress. Also because I don’t want her stuck in a hotel room with a social worker for the next few months. However you should know that there is may be a period of time where Ariel goes to live with her Aunt Roberta to test out the waters like she has done with you.”

“With all due respect, Roberta doesn’t seem to be a suitable candidate seeing as Ariel fled from her care--”

“Dr. Rorish, this is not up for discussion.” the judge interrupted. “Ariel will remain in your temporary custody until we sort these things out. I will have someone contact you in the next couple weeks regarding the next steps.”

Leanne bit her lip and shut her mouth tightly before any other argumentative words slipped from her lips. “Thank you, judge.” She tossed the strap of her purse over her shoulder and walked to the exit of the small hollow room.

The judge cleared his throat before speaking up once more, “I like you Leanne, and I like Ariel -- I want to see her go to a good home. It’s always a hard fight when up against a blood relative. If I were you, I’d find out anything you can to help with your case.”

Leanne smiled slightly thanking him in silence before nodding to him and leaving the room.

\--

Leanne got home and sighed lightly as she closed the door behind her. Although the meeting with the judge hadn’t gone exactly as she would have liked, the idea of temporary custody was enough to keep her mind at ease for the time being. She had Ariel for now, and that was all that really mattered.

Listening for any stirring in her silent house, Leanne moved upstairs. She hung her purse on the stair railing before slowly opening the door to what once was Caitlin’s room and was now Ariel’s. With a slight squeak in its hinges, the white wooden door revealed a sleeping Ariel. The blankets were pulled all the way up and tucked under her jawline. Leanne picked up her left arm and checked the time on her watch. Noon. She shook her head and chuckled to herself before slowly backing out from the deep pink room and closing the door. Leanne knew that teenagers needed more sleep than adults for proper growth and development but the mom in her couldn’t help but think it was because they stayed up until two in the morning texting and surfing the web -- something Ariel did often.

Leanne did her best not to interfere because most of the time she was texting people she met at school which meant she was socializing like a normal teen. She hadn’t been socializing for the first couple months living with Leanne. Ariel had been understandably depressed and Leanne was making every necessary move to help her gain control over it without being too overbearing. Since then, Ariel had been making small improvements like getting B+’s instead of C’s (not because she wasn’t smart but because she wasn’t trying), or going out to the beach with the odd friend from school, and even playing scrabble with Leanne and Ethan on Thursday nights. 

Ariel wasn’t the only one making changes in her life, Leanne was too. She was doing her best to re-adjust her life to the idea of motherhood again. Though she could never replace Ariel’s mother or her own children, she knew that Ariel needed a motherly figure in her life. She made a point of re-adjusting her work schedule so that she could spend more time with her. Leanne would often go to work when Ariel was sleeping and sleep when Ariel was at school, that way she could have some time with her in the morning and some in the afternoon and evenings. Leanne got home in time to cook breakfast and wake Ariel up for school and then sleep until she got home from school - often joined by snuggly sleeping partner. Ethan and Leanne had also been becoming closer, so close that Ethan now slept over almost every day and would often drop Ariel off at school before crashing in bed beside Leanne after a shift at the hospital. He was becoming a part of both or their lives as much as they were in his.

Leanne pulled on her pajamas and crawled in beside a supposed sleeping Ethan, that was until he grabbed her and pulled her tightly towards him. Leanne let out a laugh and flipped over to face him.

“I thought you were sleeping, I was trying to be so quiet!” Leanne dropped her forehead to his chin and placed a hand to his chest with a smile.

Ethan hummed in response but his eyes remained closed, “I was, until I heard the front door close. You must be exhausted. A ten hour shift, a meeting with the judge, and you have to go back to work in less than eight hours.”

“Don’t remind me.” She murmured into his chest.

“How was the meeting with Judge Carlton? Anything good to say?”

Leanne looked up at him in silence for a short moment. ‘He said that Roberta is also applying for Ariel’s adoption.”

Ethan opened his eyes and look down into Leanne’s hazel hues, “Like Aunt Roberta? The aunt that she ran away from?”

“That’s the one.” Leanne look down towards the hand that was placed against his chest. Swallowing, she ran her fingers over the natural ridges of his nipple. “She can’t go back there Ethan. There’s a reason she didn’t stay there. I don’t know why or what happened but all I know is she can’t go back there.”

“She won’t. We won’t let that happen.”

“The judge also said that we should find out anything we can to help with the case because by the sounds of what he was saying, blood relatives usually have priority.”

Ethan licked his bottom lip, “which makes sense I guess but not in this case. What do you think he means by find out anything we can?”

Leanne shook her head, “I wasn’t completely clear on that either but I’m assuming he meant to maybe do some digging into why Ariel couldn’t stand living with her aunt.” She swallowed hard, “Y’know, as frustrated as I am with the situation, I really do like this judge. He told me today that he really wants Ariel to go to a good home - he seems like he genuinely cares about this case.” Leanne went silent for a moment. “Plus, I mean, he said he liked me so what’s not to like about a guy with good taste?”

A smile creeped up on the edge of Ethan’s mouth, “Hey Leanne…” Ethan grabbed at her waist and pulled her closer towards his body, so much so that her legs had nowhere to go but in between his. “I like you too.” Ethan began provocatively running his hands up and into Leanne’s hair while he pecked at her jawline.

Leanne grinned at his sensual behaviour and let out a airy laugh, “Oh hush, you know I already like you.” Leanne pulled her body on top of his bare chest and pressed her mouth into his. His tongue ran the span of her top lip and he made a mental note that she had been wearing lipstick.

“A very heavy form of like, I hope.” Ethan managed to spit out in between kisses.

“Shut up and kiss me.” She grabbed at his face and introduced her tongue with his.

“But Ariel…” Ethan protested while sliding his hands down her midsection, inching closer to her panties with every second that passed.

“It’s Sunday, she’ll be sleeping for another hour at least. Now for the love of God Ethan, shut up and kiss me.”

Ethan did as he was told and traced his mouth down from her lips to the thin skin of her neck, down to the collarbones that peaked out of her oversized t-shirt. He skillfully ran his hands down her body until he could feel the bottom of her shirt. Pulling it over her head, he inched her back down onto his chest, relishing in the delicate weight of her small bare frame.

\--

Monday had rolled around and Leanne and Ethan had both just gotten home from their shift at the hospital. The ER had been in code black almost all day and Leanne was exhausted. The minute she got home, she threw some eggs onto the stovetop and slid some bread into the toaster for Ariel. Running her tired body upstairs, she walked into Ariel’s room and ran her hand across Ariel’s head.

“Wake up, my girl. It’s time for school. Ethan is going to drive you.”

Ariel groaned, “I don’t want to go to school today.”

“Everybody goes to school.” Leanne smiled and patted her on the bum before heading towards the door. “I’m going to jump in the shower. See you after school.”

Ethan finished cooking Ariel’s breakfast, making sure it didn’t burn before the blonde got downstairs. Ethan sipped at a fresh cup of coffee before Ariel plunked herself down at the table.

“Mornin’ girly.” Ethan chirped.

“Ethan, you are way too happy for seven AM.” Ariel groaned, sipping at her mug of coffee.

Ethan laughed and took twenty dollars out of his back pocket and held it up placing it in a brown paper bag. “This is your lunch. Leanne told me to make you a lunch last night and I completely forgot so, here you go.”

Ariel shrugged, “works for me.”

“Just try and get something somewhat healthy, you know? Something maybe less deep fried than what I think you’re going to get… Salads are good.”

“Salads are for losers.”

“Hey, I like salads.” Ethan chimed.

“Exactly.”

“Hey!” He grinned back winking a little.

Ariel’s shoulders bounced a little as she giggled the way she always did after joking around with Ethan. The two of them getting comfortable closer than Ariel would have ever thought. Finishing the last bite of her eggs and toast she grabbed her plate and placed it in the sink.

“Come on, kid. Time for school.” He grabbed her ‘lunch bag’ and held it up for her until she ripped it out of his hand and shoved it in her backpack. Grabbing the bag, she slid on her shoes and made her way to the truck before Ethan closed the door behind them.

They were almost at the school when Ariel popped the question, “So how did the meeting about my adoption go?”

Ethan stayed quiet for a moment pondering a way to bring up the news about her Aunt Roberta filing for adoption too. He glanced at her in silence before turning back to the road.

“Ethan, what? You’re scaring me.”

“Ariel, we found out yesterday that your Aunt Roberta is filing for adoption as well.”

Ariel froze. “Great!” she spat out sarcastically before turning towards the window, tears in tow. She didn’t want Ethan to see her cry, she had spent every day of her life trying to be strong since her dad died - and the news wasn’t going to ruin that now.

“We’ll figure it out, kid. We’ll do everything we can.”

Ariel began shaking her head in frustration and chewing on the corner of her thumbnail.

“Do you hear me? I promise--”

“You can’t promise me anything!” she turned to him and shouted. “I’m so fucking tired of people making promises they can’t keep!”

“Listen--” Ethan tried to coax.

“She hurt me!” Ariel’s last word going soft as she tried to hold back the wavering in her voice.

Ethan immediately slowed the vehicle down and came to a stop on the side of the road just before the school zone. “What do you mean she hurt you?”

Ariel put on her best tough girl face and sniffed to keep her dripping nose from running, “Kay, she didn’t like hit me or anything, but she told the social worker that she loved me so much and that she was going to take such great care of me….” She paused for a moment before she continued. “Then she basically tossed me to the side like a piece of trash. I was lucky if I got two meals a day.” Running her sleeve under her runny nose, she took a quick glance in Ethan’s direction. “She treated me the exact opposite you and Leanne do. All she cared about were the damn child support checks. Did Ariel get lunch that day? No because Aunt Roberta needed her whiskey and cigarettes.”

Ethan’s heart sank. “Oh honey, I am so so sorry.” He went to place a palm on her knee but Ariel pushed it away.

“I’m fine. I think I’ll walk to school from here.” she said pushing open the jeep’s door.

“But it’s still a block away?”

“See you after school.” She nodded to him, slamming the door as she turned from the vehicle. Ethan watched her sling her backpack over her shoulder as she started walking towards the school. He dropped his head shaking it a little, taking a second to register just what she had admitted. Poor kid. He pushed the vehicle into gear and began the drive home, Leanne needed to hear this.


	6. Chapter 6

“Ethan? Ethan!” Leanne shouted closing the front door behind her. He was nowhere to be seen until he popped his head out of the kitchen. He had been cooking. Ethan picked some of the finely chopped pieces of vegetable from his hands before walking out to the frantic rain-soaked woman. Leanne paced towards him with a concerned dent in her brow, “I went to pick her up from school but she wasn’t there. I caught one of the secretaries on her way out and she told me Ariel hadn’t been there all day.”

“Okay, rela--”

“You better not be telling me to relax, Ethan Carter Willis.” She shot him a wide-eyed glare.

Ethan raised his hands in defense, “She’s upset, Leanne.”

Leanne bit her lip and shook her head, “well I would be too if I had an abusive Aunt filing for custody of me.” She fumed. “We can’t let that woman adopt her, Ethan. We can’t. Ariel deserves better.”

“We’re going to do everything we can to keep her.” He ran his hands up and down her damp upper arms. “Honestly, I’m scared of anyone who tries to go up against you.” He said with a small grin, attempting to ease the room’s tension.

“Ethan.” An unimpressed expression slated Leanne’s face. “I just don’t know what to do.” She walked towards the window impatiently. “I don’t want to call the police, because if I call them then I’ll have to notify CFS that she ran away and--”

“And if we notify CFS, it would ruin our chances of adopting her.” He finished.

Leanne’s right hand was glued to her forehead as she paced the room back and forth frantically. Her eyes were closed and her mind was racing. She wasn’t one to panic often but she had grown a unique motherly love for Ariel and didn’t want to lose that. Ethan walked over and stopped her by gently placing her face in between his hands. His blue eyes alone were enough to calm her but he coached Leanne through some deep breaths.

“I’ll go out and look for her, you stay here and keep calling and texting.” He instructed.

“No Ethan, I’ll go out and look. I can’t sit here and do nothing.” She had turned and left the house before even finishing her sentence.

\--

Leanne glanced from the street down to the ringing cell phone that sat in the passenger seat beside her purse. Pulling over, she squinted and saw it was Ethan calling. She caught a glimpse of the the windshield wipers glide across her windshield before picking up her phone. Tapping the accept button, she raised the phone to her ear, “Ethan?”

“She’s home.”

Leanne let out a heavy sigh of relief and hung up without saying a word. Leaning her head back into the jeep’s seat, she closed her eyes for a moment before gathering her thoughts and pushing the vehicle into drive.

Pulling into the driveway, she slammed the jeep’s door shut before storming into the house. Ethan greeted her with a short-lived smile before he realized how angry she was. “Leanne, wait now…”

“Where is she, Ethan?” She asked fuming.

He walked towards her, “she’s in her room but wait, listen…”

Leanne did not wait, nor did she listen. She charged up the stairs so fast, the thundering sound that came from beneath her feet echoed throughout the house. Turning the cool metal handle to Ariel’s room, she pushed open the door with such force it made Ariel jump in her bed.

“Leanne! You scared the shit out of m--”

“What in the hell were you thinking, Ariel?!” Leanne shouted angrily as she approached the alarmed blonde. “Why on Earth would you run away? Skip school? Why didn’t call me? Do you even know how bad things could have been?” Leanne kept firing the questions at her as she stood angrily shaking in the middle of the girl’s room. Ethan watched it all go down from outside the door. “What if you had gotten hurt? What if someone had hurt you? We almost called the cops, you know! Can you even imagine how bad things could have gotten if we had to call them and report you missing?! What would CFS have done?!” Leanne hands immediately flew to her temples. “Were you even thinking what could have happened with your adoption? There are consequences, Ariel, for your behaviour! Consequences!” She shook her pointed index finger at her.

“Leanne…” Ethan hummed in a quiet yet cautioning tone. Without turning around, her hand flew behind her into an open palm, motioning him to stay out of it.

Leanne’s stiff tone echoed throughout the room. “You had Ethan and I worried sick! If you ever, EVER, do this again, Ariel…” Leanne’s voiced wavered and dropped suddenly when she noticed a tear slip down Ariel’s face. Pursing her lips she swallowed before speaking, “don’t you ever do this to us again.” She turned swiftly and left the room, leaving Ethan and Ariel alone. The man jumped as Leanne slammed their bedroom door behind her, sending the windows into a rattle.

Ariel looked to him, tears running down her face. “I’m sorry, Ethan.” She sniffed. “I didn’t mean to scare you two. I promise I was safe.” He entered the room in a gentle pace.

“Ariel, honey.” He sunk down beside her on the bed. “I get it, I dropped a pretty big bomb on you what with your Aunt Roberta and all.” He patted her knee gently, “but you can’t run away like that - you can’t run and not tell us where you are.”

She wiped her nose with her sleeve, “I wasn’t even thinking about what it could have done to my adoption. Leanne is so mad. She’s so mad at me - I’ve never heard her scream at anyone like that before.” Ariel rocked.

“That’s because it’s not often that she gets that upset. It happened to me once, and now I try to avoid that at all costs.” He smiled cheekily at her. “Ariel, the only reason she got so mad is because you scared her. She thinks of you like one of her children and the thought of losing you, it kills her.”

The blonde’s deep brown eyes slowly met his face as she remembered what happened to Leanne’s family. “Oh my God. Ethan. I didn’t even think.” Ariel’s eyes began to well with tears again. “Her kids.”

Ethan nodded solemnly. “She’s lost so much that she’s having a hard time dealing with the thoughts of losing you too. That’s why she’s so upset. Leanne is doing absolutely everything in her power to keep you here, at home - with us.”

Ariel shook her head. “I’m such an idiot. I need to go apologize. I can’t believe I didn’t even think.” The blonde hauled herself to her feet and pulled her sweater’s hood up, tenting her rain-damp hair.

Ethan got up too and was pleasantly surprised when he felt her arms wrap around him. This was the first time that Ariel had ever gotten this close to him. He lightly placed his palms on her back, giving her an irregular little pat. She dropped her hands walked towards the door, turning back to him before completely leaving the room, “I’m sorry I did this to you two.”

Ethan nodded and watched her move across the hall to their bedroom.

Ariel opened the door slowly to find Leanne on her side, curled up in the center of her bed with her face buried into a pillow. As she approached the bed, the wood floor creaked loudly beneath her feet. The sound of Leanne’s croaky voice, stopped her from continuing.

“Ethan, not now, okay? I know I shouldn’t have yelled at her.” Her voice raspy and muffled through the pillow.

Ariel swallowed, “It’s not Ethan.”

When she had received no answer, Ariel began walking towards the bed again until she was close enough to lower herself onto the mattress. She hoped Leanne would say something but her small frame only rose and fell with heavy wet breaths. Ariel contemplated what she was about to do before slowly leaning in and curling herself around Leanne. She wrapped left arm around her as far as it would go and laid there in silence for a few moments before speaking.

“Leanne, I am so sorry.” She swallowed hard enough for Leanne to hear. “I’m an idiot and I wasn’t thinking.”

Not a sound left Leanne’s lips - her face still deep in the depths of the down-filled pillow.

“I wasn’t thinking about my adoption. I wasn’t thinking about you or Ethan.” She took I breath before continuing. “And I was stupid enough to not think about what you have gone through with your family.” Leanne pulled her head out of the pillow exposing her tear-stained face to the open air, still facing away from the blonde. Ariel heard her sniffle a little, her nose full, something she noticed that would happen to Leanne when she got upset.

“I swear I didn’t mean to let you down - I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m so sorry, Leanne. I’m sorry for being so selfish.”

Leanne’s heart sank hearing the sincerity in the girl’s voice. She swivelled her body so that it was facing the the young girl just in time to see a heavy tear slide over the bridge of Ariel’s nose and onto the bed below. Ariel’s coffee coloured eyes met Leanne’s hazels. “I just want you to know,” she paused holding back the tears, “that I don’t want to lose you either.”


End file.
